Poland v Scotland: Strachan reveals Anya doubt

Strachan was still sounding upbeat yesterday despite Poland’s win over Germany on Saturday night, a result viewed as unhelpful to Scotland’s bid to finish in the top two in Group D. Although he admitted he might have to become more pragmatic depending on how the game unfolds, his plans yesterday were geared towards going for a win in Warsaw tonight.

“Maybe during the game I might settle for a point but at this moment in time let’s go for all three,” he said yesterday.

Strachan delivered the additional bad news after it hadf already been revealed that defender Grant Hanley would miss out with a knee injury.

Anya, who scored against Germany in Scotland’s last away match, will have a fitness test this morning to establish whether he is able to line up against the Poles.

“I’d like them all here but that can’t always happen,” pondered Strachan. “On Sunday night I didn’t go into any real panic.”

Strachan dismissed the notion that he was quickly brought back down to earth following Saturday’s 1-0 win over Georgia when learning of Poland’s win over Germany later the same evening.

Rather, Strachan said he was buoyed because a review of Scotland’s own game against Georgia revealed additional dimensions to a performance he had already deemed to be “magnificent” in the post-match press conference.

“I watched our game again and it was 80 minutes before they [Georgia] had a hit at goal,” he said. “There were no shots on target, which was good.

“Then I looked more closely and we were actually better in the second half than we were in the first.

“We had more corners in the first half but in terms of actual football and chances, we were better in the second half.

“So after watching our game again on Sunday – and after watching the Poland game on Saturday night – that outweighed how I felt [about Poland winning]. Look, the Germans did very well in terms of making chances. We all saw that. But Poland defended brilliantly and broke away.”

Just as Poland will need to adopt a different game plan this evening, so too will Scotland. Hanley’s withdrawal means Gordon Greer will likely make his competitive debut for Scotland at centre-back. The 33-year-old Brighton & Hove Albion defender was in the side that defeated Poland in Warsaw in a friendly just eight months ago. In the case of Anya, Strachan noted he has no like-for-like equivalent to the tricky winger, who was such a feature of last month’s bright performance against Germany in Dortmund.

“We’d prefer to have both players but we’ll be alright,” the manager said. “In defence, Gordon Greer has had a good partnership with Russell Martin. We have another couple of lads we could bring in as well so we’ve got plenty of bodies.

“Christophe Berra and Mark Reynolds are also here. With Anya, it would be great if he makes it but we’re not scared of the situation because we have other people ready to go. We’ll be fine.”

Strachan’s other significant personnel issue is whether to recall skipper Darren Fletcher after the player was left out of the side against Georgia. The manager gave little away yesterday but applauded Fletcher for his reaction upon learning the news he was being dropped for the weekend game. Whether he returns this evening remains to be seen.

James McArthur is another contender to be drafted into a midfield that Strachan is likely to decide needs buttressed by an extra man. “There are one or two players who will come into our thinking,” he said. “Obviously, there might be changes because of injuries but there might be one or two players whose assets might be more beneficial for this game than they would have been on Saturday.”

On the subject of Darren Fletcher, he added: “He was the first person I got to the day before the game. He had been our captain in the previous game so it was only right that you tell him the situation. He was great. He’s a professional.”